China phones with Global LTE are available now
Those interested in budget mobiles in the Americas have long been frustrated by lack of 3G WCDMA and American 4G LTE in China brands.
That situation is now changing, as Xiaomi leads the charge into the budget LTE market. This is a bold move by Xiaomi, and other China brands may now be forced to also offer Global 4G LTE. This is evident by Zuk’s recent entry, the Zuk Z2.
Below we have three mobiles currently being offered by Xiaomi, and one by Zuk, all with Americas LTE. Note, all external links open in a new tab.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro Special Overseas Edition
If you’re looking for a phone in the $150 bracket, look no further than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro.
This phone has been our top pick for a year, and fantastic news that Xiaomi has decided to release it with Global 3G and 4G LTE, including bands 2, 4, and 5 to cover LTE for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and their MVNOs (Straight Talk, MetroPCS, H2O etc…).
[spoiler title=”(click) Redmi Note 3 Pro Overseas main features” collapse_link=”false”]
| SoC | Snapdragon 650 |
| CPU | 4xARM Cortex-A53 + 2xARM Cortex-A72 |
| GPU | Adreno 510 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| ROM storage | 16GB |
| Rear camera | 16MP Samsung S5K3P3 |
| Display | 5.5″@1080P IPS OGS |
| Charging | 5V 2A |
| Additional components | Gyroscope / OTG / Compass / Bluetooth / GPS / Infrared remote |
| Battery | 4000mAh |
| 2G | GSM B2/B3/B5/B8 |
| 3G | WCDMA B1/B2/B5/B8 |
| 4G FDD | FDD-LTE B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B40 |
| TF SD expandable | Yes |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes |
| Other | TWRP and root available |
The Snapdragon 650 is one of our favorite SoC. It’s powerful enough to run Android very smoothly and carries a hexacore CPU in two clusters– four Cortex-A53 cores for the medium and light load processes, and two Cortex-A72 cores for heavy lifting.
If you wanted Snap 650 in a mainbrand mobile such as Sony, you would be looking at $300 or more. Xiaomi offers it up at less than half the cost.
(Limited sale) Global Redmi Note 3 Pro
There are several things to love about the Redmi Note 3 Pro, notably the well respected 16MP Samsung camera and great style, but our favorite feature is the big 4100mAh battery, which achieves 10 hours on our battery test.
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Global
If you’re looking for a premium specced mobile with a Samsung Edge style display and one of the highest powered SoC available, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Global may be right up your alley. It carries 3G and full 4G LTE band coverage for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint and their MVNOs.
[spoiler title=”(click) Mi Note 2 Global main features” collapse_link=”false”]
| SoC | Snapdragon 821 |
| CPU | Qualcomm custom [email protected] |
| GPU | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 6GB |
| ROM storage | 128GB |
| Rear camera | 22.56MP |
| Display | 5.7″@1080P IPS OGS 3D Edge type display |
| Charging | USB 3.1 Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Additional components | NFC / Gyroscope / OTG / Compass / Bluetooth 4.2 / GPS |
| Battery | 4070mAh |
| 2G | GSM B2/B3/B5/B8 |
| CDMA | CDMA BC0 / B1 / B10 / B15 |
| 3G | WCDMA B1/B2/B5/B8 |
| TD-SCDMA | TD-SCDMA B34/B39 |
| 4G FDD | FDD-LTE B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30 |
| 4G TDD | TD-LTE B38/B39/B40/41 |
Mi Note 2 has a unique 3D display style that sets it apart from other mobiles and is sure to attract attention wherever you go.
It’s not just a slick looker, the Mi Note 2 Global carries a huge 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, and Snap 821 with Qualcomm’s own custom Kryo cores which make the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 one of the most powerful mobiles available.
Edge style Global Mi Note 2 (black)
Edge style Global Mi Note 2 (silver)
Xiaomi Mi Mix
If an Edge style display isn’t enough to whet your appetite for slick and modern, the Mi Mix is on the bleeding edge of style and technology and could be your ticket.
The Mix doesn’t come cheap, but if you’d relish the chance to see your iPhone 7 friends in tears when they glimse its edgeless 91.3% screen to body display, the Mix is your new phone.
[spoiler title=”(click) Mi Mix main features” collapse_link=”false”]
| SoC | Snapdragon 821 |
| CPU | Qualcomm custom [email protected] |
| GPU | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 4/6GB |
| ROM storage | 128/256GB UFS 2.0 |
| Rear camera | 16MP |
| Display | 91.3% Screen to body 6.4″@1080P IPS/OGS/Edgeless |
| Charging | USB 3.1 Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Additional components | NFC / Gyroscope / OTG / Compass / Bluetooth 4.2 / GPS |
| Battery | 4400mAh |
| 2G | GSM B2/B3/B5/B8 |
| CDMA | CDMA 1X/EVDO BC0 |
| 3G | WCDMA B1/B2/B5/B8 |
| TD-SCDMA | TD-SCDMA B34/B39 |
| 4G FDD | FDD-LTE B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8 |
| 4G TDD | TD-LTE B38/B39/B40/41 |
Quick Charge 3.0, Snapdragon 821, a huge 6.4″ display, and UFS 2.0 storage tech make the Mix one of the most powerful mobiles available.
If you really want to take things to another level, the Mix Ultimate, in addition to the expanded storage and RAM, has 18K gold surrounding the rear camera and fingerprint sensor.
But, the Xiaomi Mi Mix isn’t just all power and flash. To achieve its incredible 91.3% screen to body ratio, Xiaomi decided to nix the earpiece speaker all together in favor of the latest in audio technology– piezoelectric ceramic which takes electrical signals (voice data) and converts it into mechanical energy (vibrations).
Zuk Z2 Pro and Zuk Z2 Plus Snapdragon 820
You don’t have to spend $650 to get your Snapdragon 820 / 821 phone. You can have it, and with American LTE, far cheaper now.
Zuk popped up about a year back and much like Acura is made by Honda, Zuk is Lenovo’s premium brand.
Zuk Z2 doesn’t carry the budget price of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro Overseas, or wow-factor style, but it does have a couple of things going for it.
Compact– The Z2 carries a 5.0″ display making it the most portable of the bunch and gives it us ultra smooth closeup viewing due to its pixel density of 441PPI.
Power– The Z2 has the Snapdragon 820 SoC. Just a scant few months back, the Snap 820 was the most powerful SoC there was. It’s now been surpassed by Snap 821, but only by a small step.
Price– The Z2 is the most affordable mobile with this kind of power and Global LTE.
The Zuk Z2 features an oleophobic coating which protects it from fingerprints and makes it much easier to clean. It also comes with a big 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM on the base model.
If you step it up to the 6GB 128GB Zuk Z2 Pro, you gain a beautiful AMOLED display and metal sides, as opposed to LCD and plastic sides on the Standard version.
Leave a Reply